Happily Ever After

Twenty-two interviews, more than 100 comments, and the winner is…. Me. Hahahaha.

When I first typed up all the names, I forgot to pull out myself. And the first number chosen corresponded with one of my own comments. Not to worry. I am not the winner. Well, I am, in one big way. I am a huge winner in the fact that I was able to interview twenty-two fabulous authors and able to receive feedback from so many interesting readers and writers.

But the winner of my box—come on, stop that, it's too early to be that dirty—the winner of my treasure box is Cora Zane.

Hey, CZ, please drop me a note to msalisontyler at yahoo dot com with your snail mail address and I will send you a huge box of prizes in the mail!

Thank you to everyone—authors, readers, friends, neighbors—for taking the time to get to know the Alison's Wonderland writers a little bit better.

XXX,
Alison

P.S. If any of the other authors still want to turn in their Q & A's, I will happily post.

An Interview with Alison Tyler

Hey! That's me! I mean, *I'm* me. I mean, here's my A's to my very own Q's. Oh, wait. But what about the required lead-in? Hmmm. Here we go: I've worked with Alison Tyler for years now. Sure, sometimes she drags her feet when I toss out the theme for a new anthology. And yes, she can require a bit of coddling here and there—but who doesn't need their hand held every so often. Basically, what I'm saying is that, gosh, I can't imagine putting a book together without her.

1. Which fairy tale character would you most like to do and why?

I'd like to be done by the King of Hearts. That's no surprise to anyone, is it? He did beat the Knave full sore, after all. And I think I have a healthy share of naughty Knave in me.

2. If your fairy godmother or fairy godfather (I’m an equal opportunity fairy employer) waved a magic wand over your head and granted you three wishes, what would you be wearing during your wishing?

My outfit of choice—my uniform, if you will—rarely varies: favorite jeans of the moment, t-shirt emblazoned with a snarky saying, killer boots. For wishing, I'd simply upgrade: scarlet velvet jeans, tight red t-shirt, blood red patent leather boots. I might throw in a leather collar or leather cuffs with chrome hardware.

3. What would you wish for?

Here's a sneak peek into how I'd waste my wishes. (See, I wish these almost daily—even without a fairy god type person asking me what's on my mind.) I'd wish for health for my family. I'd wish my far-flung friends lived closer by. Especially because for wish #3, I'd love to share good food and good stories with good friends around my dinner table for years to come.

4. Do you own fairy wings? A little red riding hood? Glass slippers? If yes, please describe. Or send photos!

Do I own fairy wings? Hell, no, I don't own fairy wings. What kind of stupid question is that? Who came up with the Q&A...oh, wait. Sorry. No, I do not own fairy wings. Or a riding hood. I'd crash in glass slippers. But I adore the concept of playing dress-up, even if my own fantasy wardrobe is far more limited to latex, PVC, and leather.

5. What question would you most like to ask another author in the line-up?

I have a fun story to share rather than a question to ask. One of my friends went through a brutal break-up last year. She told me she never thought she'd have sex again. She was done. She was through. She was hanging out the closed sign. And then she read Alison's Wonderland, and she felt something, well, stir. So, she wanted me to let you all know that your words brought her to place where she can actually envision opening herself up once more to the messy, crazy, not-always HEA world of real life love and sex.

How's *that* for the power of fairy tales?

6. What would you like to tell readers about your story in Alison’s Wonderland?

My story, "Rings on Her Fingers," is based on a rhyme rather than a true fairy tale. Although I believe I turned a simple sentence into a modern, slightly gritty L.A. love story, complete with a happily ever after. And what can I say? I've had a thing for ink for a few decades now.

7. What fairy tale would you love to tackle in the future?

If Mr. Thomas Roche is listening, I'd like to try to co-write a fairy tale with him. Any fairy tale, with each of us taking on one persona. I'd happily write Beauty to his Beast, Cinderella to his Charming. Snow White to his, um, Seven Dwarfs. (No, that would be pushing things.)

Alison Tyler is the author of 25 naughty novels and the editor of 50 frisky anthologies. Her work has appeared in more than 100 anthos—as well as in magazines such as Penthouse, People, and Playgirl. Her first anthology of fairy tale-themed erotica was published by Plume in 2004. Currently, she's drinking a cup of coffee and trying to figure out what to wear to work.

*****

Now, I'm done. I know there are a few writers missing from the Q&A line-up. But I'm not much of a nag. If new A's come in later, I'll happily post them. Until then, I did want to announce a winner of all the Fairy Tale Swag I've been collecting throughout the past few months! So give me a minute (or possibly a weekend) to shake my eight ball, and then I'll be back to announce the winner!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. See you on Monday!

An Interview with Bryn Haniver

Bryn Haniver's Mastering Their Dungeons may have been a slightly unusual choice for Alison's Wonderland. But I loved this story so much! The piece is filthy, fierce, and fucking hysterical. And as Dorla Moorehouse so eloquently said, "Some stories simply take the supernatural/fantastic elements of fairy tales without creating a direct analog from old stories to present ones. Bryn Haniver's 'Mastering Their Dungeons' and A. D. R. Forte's 'Moonset' are my favorite examples of these." I've been lucky enough to have worked with BH a handful of times, and I'm thrilled to host the following uber-entertaining Q & A:

1. Which fairy tale character would you most like to do and why?

A mermaid or siren. One of the terrible, irresistible ones known for luring sailors to their doom. It's an adrenaline thing, life on the edge and all that.

2. If your fairy godmother or fairy godfather (I’m an equal opportunity fairy employer) waved a magic wand over your head and granted you three wishes, what would you be wearing during your wishing?

Scuba gear. Or at least a sailor suit. See first question.

3. What would you wish for?

Gills. So I could frolic with the mermaids without running out of air. Then wings, so I could frolic with airborne angels and demons. I've watched eagles mate in midair, it looks pretty exiting. And finally, I'd wish that we could live in better harmony with the environment. That, or maybe just a bag of cash - back on solid ground, we writers are often a hungry lot.

4. Do you own fairy wings? A little red riding hood? Glass slippers? If yes, please describe. Or send photos!

Alas, no fairy wings or riding hoods, and I'm not much of a slipper wearer. I suppose I'm more of an observer of fairy fashion.

5. What question would you most like to ask another author in the line-up?

I'd ask Rachel about any undergraduate social science classes she might have taken.

6. What would you like to tell readers about your story in Alison’s Wonderland?

Although not a traditional fairy tale, I did spend much of my teenage years lost amidst the elves, maidens and multisided dice of Dungeons and Dragons, which obviously inspired my story.

7. What fairy tale would you love to tackle in the future?

I'd like to run, run, as fast as I can, to catch up with the ever so delicious ginger haired woman. Even though chases, like fairy tales before Disney, often end badly.

Bryn Haniver writes fiction, much of it naughty, from beaches, boats, islands and peninsulas.

So there you have it! Whew! I'm done! Oh, wait. Maybe I'm not. I still have to post *my* answers. Yup. I'm going to answer my own questions. We'll see how that goes. I might be bratty and give those one-word, monosyllabic interviews that make editors tear out their hair. Nah. I like my hair.

XXX,
Alison

Interview with T. C. Calligari

Did you miss me? No, I wasn't really gone, but now I'm back. Ha! That makes no sense at all. Clearly, I've had too much sake—or possibly not quite enough. One thing is for sure, I have a brand-new interview to post from an author featured in Alison's Wonderland. T. C. Calligari penned "A Taste for Treasure," a retelling of one of Grimm's fairy tales. She's here to answer my standard Q's with her witty A's:

1) Which fairy tale character would you most like to do and why?

I'd like to do the Beast. He's big and beastly and untamed, but gentle and sophisticated too. A creature of depths who's sure to be wild in bed.

2) If your fairy godmother or fairy godfather (I’m an equal opportunity fairy employer) waved a magic wand over your head and granted you three wishes, what would you be wearing during your wishing?

I'd be wearing very high shoes, shiny and red, and a diaphanous, sheer gown.

Alison Tyler butts in. Oooooh, she likes diaphonous dresses, too!

3) What would you wish for?

Feet that could wear (and walk in) any shoes or boots no matter how high and for as long as I wanted. All the time in the world to travel and write, in style of course. And third, at least a couple of beautiful and strong attendants to go with me and attend to my every need (and whim) with love and sensuality.

4) Do you own fairy wings? A little red riding hood? Glass slippers? If yes, please describe. Or send photos!

I have a pair of black feathered fallen angel wings, as well as aquamarine diaphanous fairy wings, decorated with jewels and glitter. My scallop shell bra with strings of pearls and glass beads is for my mermaid days and I have at least two wands, a flog and collars for all those enchanted evenings.

5) What question would you most like to ask another author in the line-up?

I would ask every author what is the closest they have come to a true fairy tale or fairy tale character in real life?

6) What would you like to tell readers about your story in Alison’s Wonderland?

I love fairy tales and have since I was a child. A Taste for Treasure is based on one of the shorter, more obscure tales of the Brother's Grimm, of which there were hundreds. I have the complete collection but haven't read them all. There is such a treasure trove there.Magic often comes in threes and it does so in this tale. I have changed the tale so it's not just a damsel being used by a beast or a being rescued by a prince. The innkeeper is a woman who likes to collect many things and she finds what it is that she most treasures. I wanted to explore a tale we haven't heard about over and over. New territory and quite a challenge in its own. Besides, I was intriqued with the father who tosses his children out in favor of a goat!

7) What fairy tale would you love to tackle in the future?

I have tackled some fairy tales in my other writing guise: Snow White, Princess and the Pea, Rapunzel, the Minotaur, but there's always room for more exploration. I see a tale with a lady with a tail, some mermaid siren song in the watery depths of the future. I also see a linking of the Beauty and the Beast tale to Greek myths. And those Greek gods were lusty lovers! There are so many tales and I want to explore the Irish landscape and the magic brooding there.

T.C. Calligari's work has appeared in various anthologies including Mammoth Book of the Kama Sutra, Guilty Pleasures, Naughty or Nice, Don Juan: Tales of Lust and Seduction and Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica. T.C. lives on BC's magical west coast where selkies and sasquatch make their homes. She has at least one genie bottle and rubs it regulary waiting for the genie to come...out and grant her wishes.

I have only one more Q & A to post, I believe. So hang in there, everyone. Once I get these up—I will move onto my big, big super cool plan for the Flash Fucking entries!

XXX,
Alison

"share her kinky sense of fun"

Alison's Wonderland has received a brilliant review by the ever-awesome Ashley Lister:

Fortunately, Spice Books and Alison Tyler seem to understand that fairy tales have always been intended for adults.

Not that Alison Tyler is alone in this understanding. She’s managed to find more than two-dozen authors who share her kinky sense of fun. In Alison’s Wonderland there are twenty-seven scintillating stories of fairy-tale shenanigans to set your red shoes tapping and make you wonder what might happen if you go down to the woods today.

It should be noted here that, in excess of 100,000 words, Alison's Wonderland is the largest collection of erotic stories that Alison Tyler has ever published. It should also be noted that this one, possibly more than any other, contains some of the most celebrated names in the world of erotic fiction.

Ashley's right. This *is* the largest collection I've ever done. Nearly twice as long as the first anthology I put together! Alison's Wonderland was a long time coming. I read so many stories, shuffled the tales in so many different way, danced back and forth with my editor (Susan Swinwood) over the selection. Sometimes, I can't believe the book is actually out, that people are currently reading the stories that delighted me so much! I almost feel as if I might wake up and be back in the editing process. But no. The book is done. Really and truly. And I'm so proud to have worked with the 26 authors in the collection.

I adore fairy tales. My first fairy tale collection came out back in 2002 or 03 with Venus and then Plume. But I wrote my first fairy-tale inspired story back in the 80s. And I spent my youth reading the Red Fairy Book and the Blue Fairy Book and Swedish Fairy Tales and Grimm's. I still have my huge, Golden fairy tale book with the gorgeous illustrations. So this collection truly stamped a happily ever after on one of my blank pages.

Read Ashley's full review here.

XXX,
Alison

XXX,
Alison